Late-style SB thermostat housing...those dimples

Leave 'em on there.
I wanted to grind them off too, but I got to thinking about it and this is what I came up with;
Look where they are, outboard of the mounting holes right?Take a look at the sealing ring ....see how it thins out as it comes around to the bolt-holes?
My thought was that when you bolt the housing on, the nipples preload the flange and make it act like a spring,and this forced the sealing ring ever tighter onto the gasket.
In any case the nipples pass thru the gasket elongated mounting holes, and sit tight on the manifold metal. In no way can the cause a leak; so I left them alone, cuz I also thought those engineers were probably smarter than me.